


just a bunch of normal kids

by moony_is_a_werewolf



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Major Original Character(s), POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:09:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moony_is_a_werewolf/pseuds/moony_is_a_werewolf
Summary: A fic from the perspective of a muggle born Hogwarts student and her encounters and opinions of the marauders as she progresses through school - bear with me, it’s not just a dig at the Marauders, I love them all and I promise I’ll do them justice :)
Relationships: Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin





	1. Robin meets the Marauders

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading guys :)

RAVENCLAW!

Suzie Johnson grins and joins Robin at the Ravenclaw table. Elated, they listen as the rest of the names are called. Neither can help but notice a group of boys on the other side of the room, on the lion house table. Whenever a smaller child is sorted into Gryffindor, the three of them roar with happiness, significantly louder than the polite applause that comes from everyone else in the room.

Another boy is sitting next to them, almost cringing every time his friends stand up. He is smaller than the rest of them, considerably wider too. His sandy blonde hair is plastered against his face. How could someone be that sweaty just because his friends are embarrassing themselves?  
The one on the end is the tallest and thinnest. He has light brown hair and slouches, possibly a result of being so tall. Robin notices he has some silvery scars running down his face, and also around his collar bone.

The next boy along is significantly shorter that the scarred one. He has long, black hair and angular features, and somehow looks both elated and full of sorrow at the same time. How do you even do that?

Between the happy-sad boy and the pudgy blonde one is a taller, bespectacled boy with black hair that stands up at every angle. He seems to be the leader of the group, and all the other boys look at him for instruction for when to stand up.

All around them, other children look up at them like they are saints. Robin wants to puke. What’s so special about a bunch of teenage boys with so much insecurity they need to believe they are the centre of the universe?

In her opinion, they’re just a bunch of arrogant tossers.

***  
September, 1975

The corridors are filled with noise, students scurry past on their way to classes, but right in the middle, the “Marauders” - a name they gave to themselves in their first year (seriously?) - take their time, the little pudgy one clearly anxious that they are going to be late.

“Bloody hell” Suzie murmurs under her breath.

“What?”

“Look at the Lupin one”

Sure enough, his collection of scars had grown. Red and raw, he had tried to cover them with a scarf - in early autumn mind you - and failed miserably. 

What could have done it to him is the question Robin is asking. Is there seriously such dangerous things at the school that a student could be beaten up that bad?

Secondly, the Marauders are inseparable. Surely if the Lupin kid was being beaten up, the others were too.

Some kid in their dorm, a pureblood, whatever that means - they sure wanted to tell people about it - told them that she heard from her big brother that he gets sick all the time, and comes back to class with more scars than before. Surely, there was some explanation as to what his ailment could be.

Even though Robin had only just started, she seemed to have a knack for magic that other students in her class just couldn’t quite attain. Her and Suzie would go to the library daily. The rows of dark oak shelves filled with thousands of leather bound books, the impossibly tall arched windows, not to mention the squashy seating, made it the ideal place to spend an afternoon. Robin made a mental note to research conditions that gave you scars next time she found herself studying.

The Ravenclaw common room was nice, but both Suzie and Robin tended to avoid it. Neither of them saw it fit that they had to answer a riddle to enter, and both much preferred the furniture in the library.

***  
October 1975

The owlery was busy when Robin came to deliver an owl to her parents. She hurried over to one of the school owls - her parents didn’t like the idea of keeping an owl in the house - and didn’t notice Remus coming in the other direction. He dropped the letter he was trying to mail, and quickly scurried to pick it up.

Flustered, he started to stutter

“I-I-I’m sorry”

He stumbled through the sentence at a frustratingly slow rate

“Are you also writing a letter to your parents?” Robin asked.

He was calmer now, able to string a full sentence together.

“No, I don’t have any” he said almost casually. “This is for Bathilda Bagshot - I have a bit of a soft spot for History of Magic.”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry!”

“No problem, most letters go to parents, it was a valid assumption” he said, almost sadly.

Both of them start tethering letters to their owl’s feet.

In an attempt to lighten the conversation, Robin continues. “I like History of Magic too! It’s just an excuse to read more books, and once you get over professor Binns’ rambling, what he has to say is actually quite interesting.”

“Nice to see that the next generation of witches and wizards aren’t all just interested in Quidditch. You should come to my study group - it’s on in the library every Thursday and Sunday.”

Remus had finished tying his letter, and let the owl free. He got up to leave. 

“I’ll see you then I guess. Ummm… I never caught your nam-”

“Robin” she got up to leave. “Until Thursday Remus.”

“G’bye Robin” 

Remus lifted up a hand and waved goodbye before he spun around on his heel and left the tower.

The conversation left Robin’s head spinning. His remark about quidditch was unexpected: two of his three best friends were obsessed with the sport, plus they played on the gryffindor team. It was almost like he was having a dig at his friends - but why?

Maybe he didn’t think they were all that either. He was never the one that was the centre of attention - that spot was reserved for James Potter and occasionally, Sirius. 

Maybe he thought they were just a bunch of normal kids too.


	2. November 3rd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Robin attends Sirius's sweet sixteenth

1st November 1975

“I wonder what they are going to do!”

“I heard they got a dragon from Romania!”

“Yeah, me too! And it is going to spell out ‘Happy Birthday Sirius’ with flames in the sky!”

Robin had discovered that the Marauders had made quite a name for themselves when it came to birthdays. In her opinion, it was pretentious and annoying and had no idea why Remus put up with it.

Since their Owlery Encounter, Robin eagerly attended each study session, generally dragging Suzie along with her. A friendship was starting to form between Robin and Remus - they both liked History of Magic, hated quidditch (Suzie got a bit offended at that, although she was also a muggle-born, she found she rather enjoyed flying on a broomstick high up in the air) and liked chocolate more than one necessarily should. Robin still couldn’t quite grasp how someone so kind and gentle could have such bold, brash friends. 

The school was buzzing with excitement - you had to be specially invited to the marauder’s birthday parties in the Gryffindor common room. Invitations are given out a few days before, and they are starting to roll out. Although Robin wasn’t exactly expecting one (after all, she was a first-year Ravenclaw and Sirius was a fifth-year Gryffindor) surely Remus thought they were friends?

So far, the only people that have received invitations are:

Lily Evans: everyone knew James is madly in love with her and is a fellow Gryffindor fifth-year  
Marlene McKinnon: On the Gryffindor team with Sirius and James, also a fifth year  
Mary MacDonald: Lily and Marlene’s friend, rumoured to be going out with Sirius   
And Dorcas Meadowes: Marlene’s friend - (Robin is starting to think it is a bit more than that)

Throughout the day, more people were receiving invitations, but only fourth-years and above. When Robin first heard this, her heart sank. Of course they didn’t want a little eleven-year-old hanging out at a sixteen-year-old’s birthday party.

After lunch, Robin heads to the library to catch up on some potions homework. She yanks out a book from one of the full shelves and sits down to begin, when she feels someone lightly tap her shoulder. 

She turns around to find Remus grinning behind her.

“Hello Robin” he says, gleefully. “I hope you’ve heard Sirius’s birthday is coming up”

“Who hasn’t,” Robin says sarcastically. “I see you have made quite a name for yourself when it comes to birthdays”

Remus smirks. “I guess we have. Anyway, I just wanted to give you this”

He places an ornate envelope on the table next to her, before turning around to leave.

“Thanks Remus!” She calls out behind him, but he is already gone.

***  
The envelope is red and sealed with a lion wax seal. On the front, it has ‘Robin’ written on it in amazing penmanship, clearly not the work of Remus - his handwriting is appalling. She opens the letter:

Robin Davis,

Sirius Orion Black requests your presence at his sixteenth birthday party.

This invitation comes with a plus one - moony here says your friend Suzie might have quite the time at my party.

The Marauders look forward to seeing you at the Gryffindor common room, Third of November, 8pm.

***  
“BLOODY HELL ROBIN YOU AMAZING HUMAN”

When Robin told Suzie the news, to say she was excited is an understatement. No other first-years were invited, and the invitation was basically a ticket to becoming the most popular witches in their year.

The rest of the afternoon was allocated to choosing their outfits - with limited success, since neither of them thought they would be invited to one of the most exclusive events on the Hogwarts calendar. When Robin tried to find Remus and ask for the dress code the next day, he just shrugged and told her she’d look fine in whatever - clearly he was too busy organising the festivities.

***  
Robin decides on a David Bowie shirt and some jeans - she hopes it isn’t too casual. 

A few minutes before eight, the girls head down with the rest of the mob of Ravenclaws invited, and arrive at the Gryffindor common room - the entrance is a portrait of a fat lady, who sees them in their party clothes and immediately swings open, muttering about a ‘sleepless night’.

The pudgy blonde boy - Robin heard his name was Peter somewhere - is at the door, clearly not happy to be on greeting duty, and begrudgingly says hello to Robin and Suzie, looking somewhat shocked that some first-years were invited. 

Robin and Suzie gape in awe at gryffindor tower. Unlike the Ravenclaw common room, which is light and blue and cool, the Gryffindor common room is warm, with squishy chairs and fireplaces, covered in tapestries, and just generally more inviting and soft, like the library. 

“BLOODY HELL MOONY! YOU DIDNT TELL ME SHE LIKED BOWIE TOO!” Yells a voice from the other side of the room. Confused, Robin turns around to see Sirius Black running towards her. When he reaches her, he is a waterfall of words, from complimenting the shirt, to commenting on his latest album, even asking her if she’d seen him live.

“Uh - Yeah, I’ve seen him live. My parents are kind of obsessed.”

“NO WAY! IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!”

“I guess?”

At that moment, Remus comes over to calm Sirius down. “It’s okay mate, lots of muggles have seen him live, he’s pretty famous”

“B-b-but she’s seen him live Moony”

“Breathe, Padfoot. It’s okay” Remus says calmly, holding him close. “I’m sorry Robin, he’s a little obsessed.”

“No worries - I take it he has never been to see them”

“Nope” Sirius says, not screaming now. He is leaning back against Remus. “As soon as I leave it is the first thing I am doing though!”

“That’s great. You’d get along with my parents pretty well, you know”

Sirius sighs “Yeah, I bet.” 

He gets up to leave. “C’mon Moony”

“Orright Pads, one sec”

“Did I say something wrong?” says Robin

“Oh - No, not at all. Family’s just a bit of a sore spot for him, doesn’t get on very well with his parents, that’s all” Remus says, sympathetically. “It was great to see you though!” He is back to being cheerful. 

“Robin” Suzie whispers in her ear. “Did you see the way the two of them were touching?”

Come to think of it, the boys did touch a bit more than you necessarily should. Robin shrugged it off, and got up to dance. 

***  
A couple of hours later, the party is still going strong, but you couldn’t say the same about Robin. She’s sure someone spiked the punch with firewhisky, and she’s been on the dance floor all night. She goes to sit down on an armchair, and as she does, she sees Remus heading up the stairs to the boys dorm. Maybe he’s going to grab something? She sits back, watching the stairs, and not a minute later, Sirius heads up too. Her mind switches back to what Suzie said before, but just to make sure, she checks they’re not coming back down. Surely they are just running up to grab fireworks or a cake? But why the staggered timing? And why not James and Peter too? James always makes sure he is the centre of attention - right now he is downing a whole bottle of firewhisky (she heard from someone he doesn’t even get hungover)

Five minutes pass, no sign of either of the boys. 

A few people ask her to dance, but Robin is much too invested in this now.

Ten minutes, boys start leading girls up to their dorms, but still no sign of Sirius or Remus.

Half an hour later, people start to leave. It is past midnight and everyone has classes tomorrow, best to get some rest in and try and pray the hangover away.

By the time everyone is dispersed and Robin gets up to go, one thing is clear:

Sirius and Remus are together.


End file.
